A Wisconsin man sifting through mud from his friend's well discovered a 1.2 carat diamond in the mud -- and it could be worth as much as $11,000. (Photo: Creative Commons)

Talk about a diamond in the rough. A Wisconsin man sifting through mud from his friend's well discovered a 1.2 carat diamond in the mud -- and it could be worth as much as $11,000.

Dan Fagan frequently pans for gold, much to the chagrin of his friends. While he frequently finds gold flakes, they often don't add up to much money.

"Everyone thinks I'm a fruit loop for panning for gold," he told the New Richmond News.

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While panning for gold in a 120-foot deep well recently dug by his friend, he spotted an irregularly-shaped, transparent rock that he initially thought was a piece of glass. However, he took the rock to the jewelry store where he found that rock was actually a 1.22 carat diamond.

Karen Greaton, the jewelry store owner, had the rock examined by a mineralogist who confirmed that it was, in fact, a diamond.

"My dad told me it's unlikely to find a diamond here, but diamonds can actually be found anywhere in the world," Greaton said.

But while the diamond could be worth thousands, Fagan said he's unlikely to sell it. Instead, he said he will incorporate the stone into a necklace for his soon-to-be-born child.